Tag: keeping your dog cool in summer months

Today in Denver the temperature will climb to 102 degrees. It’s easy to stay inside and keep the air conditioning on high and hope temperatures lower quickly. Of course not only is that not practical it’s not necessarily fun either.

If you live near a body of water and your dog loves to swim you’ve got it made. But what about the rest of us?

Here are a few ideas to keep your dog cool.

1.) Walk your dog early in the morning and late at night. Aside from being uncomfortably hot, it’s not good for their paws and can actually burn their paw pads. Think of it this way if it’s too uncomfortable for you to walk barefoot across the street it’s too hot on your dogs paws.

2.) If your dog wants to sit outside in the back yard as mine often does please make sure your dog has shade to rest in and water in their dish outside. You can even place ice cubes in their water dish to keep it nice and cool. Make sure you check on them frequently or better yet stay outside with them and make them come inside to cool off.

3.) A kiddie pool filled with water might just the kind of thing your dog loves. Boo doesn’t mind getting in ankle deep to fetch a toy but he’s not much of a swimmer so I need to find reasons for him to want to get in the water. Throwing a few floating toys in the pool usually does the trick.

4.) Fresh fruit treats. Some fresh fruits are healthy for your dog. Take a few and put them in a stuff toy like a Kong or Tux and freeze them. Boo is a fan of watermelon so I slice it up and use a bone cookie cutter to give it a cute shape and toss them in the freezer to give him a cool treat. If your dog isn’t a fan of fruit you can use bone broths to make popsicles as well.

Fresh fruit you can give to your dog5.) Elevated pet beds can help keep your dog comfortable by allowing air to circulate underneath them.

6.) Find games to play inside instead of outside. We play hide and seek with Boo a lot. I’ll hide with a treat in my hand when he finds me he gets the treat. It’s fun if you have another person to play with and you can take turns hiding. If hide and seek isn’t your thing, puzzle toys can keep your dog active inside so they can play in cooler air.

Stay cool friends and feel free to comment below. How do you keep your dog cool in hot weather?